Remembering 2008...

31st December 2008

There was a lot of change throughout this year - dance wise and for personal reasons. Do you remember any of this? Did you feel the same?

Ceroc

As a fully fledged week-in week-out Modern Jiver for the last 11 years, for the first time ever I broke tradition and did not attend the Annual Ceroc Championships.

Usually I would really look forward to going, counting the days down to May and be asking around as to who else would be competing. Not any more though. The excitement had gone. The Troxy didn't do it for me, I preferred competing at the Hammersmith Palais. Now I don't want to compete at all.

I also felt that this was the year that I had a significant change of heart about Ceroc, I didn't look forward to some of their events they laid on.

One change that happened this year was at Ceroc Camber Sands Viva Las Vegas function. They discontinued the normally expected classes and introduced 'master classes'.

They finally stopped copying the 'Franco model', so to speak... With Ceroc this year I didn't feel I had learnt anything, there was nothing new for me. I only really attended to see friends and acquaintances. I'd moved on.

Utopia

Ceroc attempted to upmarket its better dancers to attend a different night than the run-of-the-mill venue.

More Utopian events emerged, with differing names (Heaven & Hell etc).

Utopia started out for me as an exciting event to regularly attend, but I was finding that the music was the main problem I had with it, I was not really up for dancing WCS sounding music or a similar sounding set that really was just not my cup of tea. Sorry.

West Coast Swing

West Coast Swing took off for some, but this was also not really for me, although I did have a go at learning it.

We lost a lot of people we know to WCS, who created their own championships in Weston Super Mare.

Some brave souls attempted to learn WCS and Tango, but they are few and far between. This year saw a bigger widening of the gap.

Jive Addiction

Do you remember Jive Addiction's difficulties with Ceroc over Southport?

After JA's last function, we all left saying we wouldn't be going to (the newly named) 'Blush' next year, and lo & behold, Ceroc changed the dates from June to February.

Why did they do that? Will we still feel the same in 2009?

Instead we all decided we would be going to the (more expensive) 'Eclipse' function at Butlin's Skegness in 2009, some people doing this as a means of supporting Jive Addiction.

JA was so cross about Ceroc, they even created a 'Ceroc'd Off' group on Facebook, which somehow mysteriously vanished after a short while.

Will Skegness be dominated by WCS, or will Tango get a look in?

JiveTime

From what I gather, Jivetime's new weekender on the South coast was sold out this year, they were able to find their feet after losing Camber Sands to Ceroc.

Saying that, I have not had inclination to attend the new weekender. It didn't seem to be on the radar for attending, I was never sure who would be attending.

Jango

Amir Giles brought an end to teaching his Jango classes (in general) and started teaching Tango instead.

Taking up Tango

There was a creation of groups encouraging Jiver's to take up Tango - for example, the Let's Go To Negracha's group. And this site, of course.

Tango venues were discovered and tried out.

London venues such as Negracha's and La Mariposa - Tango venues that would have previously terrified me to enter - were now commonplace for me to attend.

It's still early days for some of us there, but it has, for me anyway, replaced the challenge that seems to have been lost in my dancing this year.

Finally

It was a good year for me though as for the first time ever, I proposed! (fortunately for me, she said yes), so next year I will be getting married.

Roll on 2009.

 - Ken Royden, 31st December 2008